The Adventures in Real Life of Me, Troy, Sydney, Ethan, Emmy, Sophie and mostly Me...

Monday, November 8, 2010

Jaws

No Sharks, Just really big waves. In the winter, Maui's north shore gets epic size waves. There is a famous break in Peahi called Jaws. We went out with Sydney's school (there are only 13 kids, so field trips are a breeze) on Election day to vote for our favorite wave. Ethan, Ember and Sophie came along.

Viewing the waves at Jaws takes some determination and some local knowledge. Off the Hana Highway there are two roads that offer some viewing options. The first is Hahana Rd. The other is my secret. Hahana road gets lots of traffic, its crowded, and sunny but a good fun place to view the action. Both spots require a hike through a pineapple field, unless you know someone willing to lend you a key to the gate. Both are amazing places to watch the awesome feats of the daring surfers that charge these enormous waves.

The waves move so fast that you cannot paddle onto them, so the riders are towed in by an experienced jet ski driver. These ski's are the pull as well as the life guards. It is fun to see them work together to do a rescue when a surfer gets into a bad place. They make it look easy, but I know it takes a lot of skill. To date no one has lost their life at Jaws.

Ethan was truly impressed by the size of the waves and the bravery of the riders.

Sydney liked climbing the trees with Lexi.

Ember was hungry and Sophie wanted to pick all the Amaryllis flowers.

I could have brought a chair and watched for the better part of the day.